Renewal is Coming

 Our walk today took us by some of the most delightful streets in Oxford if you are a tourist.  They are generally delightful to me as well, and we have had over a year now in this historic city.  The two streets we traveled would normally have been crowded with students and tourists, and by summer this year, I hope that will be the case once again.  

We left last year on March 14, so come that date in 2021, we will begin to see seasons and weather that we have not hitherto known.  We are looking forward to that.  

By the time we leave in August, we will have experienced every month.

One street we strolled along today is called Broad Street.  It is indeed broad, and lined with beautiful little shops.  A great many of them are Oxford souvenir shops; there are cafes, bakeries, bookstores, clothing stores, sandwich shops, Harry Potter souvenir shops and ice cream stores all nestled up to various colleges.  It is sad to walk along that lovely road and see shops closed, some gone forever.  

Blackwell is the most famous bookstore in Oxford with thousands of books in underground rooms for customers to browse.  It is the go-to store for all textbooks and all-things Oxford.




Stock photos - one and all.

Today, the few intrepid pedestrians out were masked and bundled up against the 40-degree weather.  The people who were out in abundance, were the Deliveroo drivers.  We saw clusters of them everywhere, sitting outside the most popular take-out restaurants.  Most are on bikes or motorbikes, some on motorcycles, and occasionally some drive a car.  They have the large square aqua packs on their bikes (or sometimes smaller ones on their backs, identifying them as Deliveroo delivery persons..  I don't know how much money they make, but if they are steadily busy, perhaps they pull in some good extra money, especially if they receive a few good tips.

We passed a large department store - Debenhams, that has been in business all over England for many years (Think Dillards).  I don't know how they are doing elsewhere in the country, but it has been announced the one here in Oxford will be closing its doors permanently.

Another store, that is several stores high and covers half a block of storefront is empty, with windows displaying dust and refuse from inside, as though it is completely abandoned.  To complete the picture, there was a homeless person with his stained mattress, sleeping bag and a few belongings having set up residence in the recessed main entrance.

Boswells has been a mainstay here until 2020.  This is what Wikipedia had to say about it:

Boswells of Oxford was the largest independent family-run department store in Oxford, England. The store closed in 2020. The store first traded in 1738, and was the second oldest family owned department store in the world.

I do not know what is ahead for Oxford, or for England, but I know the British are famed for their stoic resilience throughout centuries of plagues and wars.  They have moved ahead quickly and with great resolve to get the better of COVID.  I expect that by summer, life will be cautiously back to normal....whatever that means.  Numbers are dropping, and just like spring is gently opening nature to us, little by little the city will open up as well.  

I'm looking forward to seeing that rebirth take place.

Comments

melissa said…
I’m glad to see it reopening...but it’s sad to see the disaster it left in its wake.
March 7, 2021 at 4:35 AM
Elder and Sister Madsen said…
Yes, Melissa....hopefully by the time you get here, there will be no signs of it.
March 8, 2021 at 6:10 AM
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